The bane of my existence has once again chosen my busiest truck driving time of year to return with a high pitched vengeance.

Sunday night I swapped out the Ford Gold coolant for Rotella ELC (thank you Fuzzpuss for keeping your 6.0 assistance hotline open for me!)

Because I’m such a forward thinking and responsible guy I started the changeover at 6pm which meant right about the time all my neighbors were falling asleep I needed to idle the engine to warm it up and open the thermostat. I did not realize I splashed coolant onto at least 2 of the belt pulleys in the process.
Picture the scene: The engine bay is damp from water hose overspray as I filled the degas bottle and flushed the first few times. Then I begin flushing with distilled water and again some water is splashed down onto the belt. This keeps things lubricated during the idle cycles to open the thermostat.
The last round of distilled water was poured into the degas bottle and I started the truck and went inside the house to give the engine one final heat cycle. I intentionally stayed in the house for half an hour.
When I opened the garage door at 12:30am I realized my mistake.
The squealing was AWFUL. It drowned out the engine noise and and the 4” exhaust. I don’t know how long it had been going on but I’m very lucky shots weren’t fired in my direction.
The longer idle time warmed the belt pulleys enough to dry them out and that Ford Gold banshee wail was singing proud.

It has been 3 days now and the noise is now slightly below ear-bleeding levels.

Are there any magic tricks to flush the bearings? Water does not work. White lithium sprayable grease does not work-trust me, don’t try this one.
Thanks for any help and have a few laughs on me. I deserve it.
😎
Mark

 

I could be wrong, but I don’t think it’s the bearings. My guess would be the belt surface covered with dried Ford Gold coolant and water glazed it and the surface of the pulleys. I’d remove the belt, clean the pulleys as best you can, and put a new belt on.

But I have been known to be dumb as a rock and be wrong, soooo…. 😉

 

I haven’t specifically tried wiping the belt or pulley contact surfaces down. I’ve sprayed the hell out of the whole area with high pressure water hose. It goes silent immediately but starts up again once the offending part dries off.
The belt doesn’t move against the pulley. When the belt touches the pulley the two move together as they rotate. There’s no slipping or friction unless a pulley bearing is stuck or worn. Mine are (were!) all silent and smooth prior to the coolant swap.
This is my own grasp of the situation. I’ve had this happen too many times and replaced idler pulleys and the tensioner assembly and belt several times. I haven’t found a consistent fix or culprit.

 

Once the belt is contaminated you can’t wipe it down. It’s toast. 😉

 

I agree with that, as it's been my experience too.

 

I tried every trick in the book to stop the noise. Nothing worked. Had to swap my belt.

 

A local farm store sells a product called belt dressing. Sprayed on a squeaking belt, it reduces slippage and noise. But it is a temporary fix.

 

Gentlemen you have convinced me.
A new belt it is.

Thank you!

 

Mark, I specifically remember telling you to remove the thermostat so you wouldn't have to wait for it to open to get the water moving around. Does that also mean you didn't get water shooting out the block drain when you rev'd the engine like I tried to describe?

 

Since you're replacing the belt, consider this:

1. Removing the stator and leaving it off permanently
2. Spin each pulley by hand and replace any that don't spin freely before installing the new belt

 

I DID remove the driver side block drain because of your advice. I forgot about removing the thermostat until after I drained the original coolant load. That’s when the contamination happened.
I was halfway done when I remembered what you said. It didn’t occur to me that avoiding the long idle at still had value.
I’m a knucklehead. It’s how I learn.
:-)

 

Is the stator the big plastic piece that is behind the fan? It’s held in place with 4 bolts to the front of the engine?
I’d love to ditch that thing. It’s in the way of EVERYTHING.

 

Yep, that’s it!

 

Stator= Stationary. So yes you're correct.

 

Just remember, if you do, you will have to support the wiring to the fan one way or another.